Chapter Text
Going back to Hogwarts for me was always an easy choice. After a year on the run with both Harry and Ron along with fighting Voldemort. I needed to feel normal not that I was ever normal as a muggle-born witch. This is why I’m going to go back to Hogwarts to actually be able to exercise being in school without all of the danger and running. I will be able to study for my N.E.W.T. and figure out what I want to do. I’m also going to be sad that Ginny won’t be coming with me either since she will be training with the Holyhead Harpies for the season so I hope at least I will get to see familiar faces when I go back. Hermione knew things would be completely different with her being by herself, but she wasn’t afraid at all in fact she was more at peace she wasn’t going to be looking over her shoulder.
“I really hope I have a wonderful year this year with nothing bad happening. I can deal with the aftereffects of the war, but I don’t want to have to continually look over my shoulder.” Hermione thought as she sat on her bed and looked out the window at the night sky.
Coldness and darkness were the only things he was feeling aside from hearing his own breathing and heartbeat. Then he heard a scream and that’s when his instincts kicked in and he started to run towards the sound. Until he came right into the drawing room and saw her body lying on the ground. He came forward slowly trying not to make a sound until he heard his aunt call for him to come forward as he did, he saw that Hermione was lying on the ground in a pool of her own blood. Just by looking at her, he knew he had to find a way out for them. He knew in his heart he didn’t want to make the same mistake again. He looked at Hermione again and he thought she was mumbling something until he realized that she was saying something.
“Draco please help me, please I’m begging you, please save me,” Hermione said to him as she didn’t have any more strength in her left.
Draco got a few inches away, but he knew his aunt Bellatrix had heard everything that Hermione said. “Oh, poor little mudblood wants to be saved. No one is going to save you. You are a waste of life.” Bellatrix said while pointing her wand at Hermione and casting the Cruciatus Curse again while cackling. While she was busy torturing Hermione again, Bellatrix didn’t notice Draco slowly take his wand out and stun Bellatrix and then he just ran to Hermione took her in his arms and ran out of the room with her. So that way he could get both of them out by apparition. But he was too late for any apparition because Draco felt a spell amend at him and he fell forward with Hermione in his arms trying to make sure she didn’t get hurt even more than she already was by taking the fall more on his body than on hers.
“You don’t have anywhere to run Draco. Even with the mudblood in your arms. You will not be able to get out.” The voice said as they came closer to them until Draco saw who it was. He saw that it was Rodolphus pointing his wand at both of them.
Draco then just put Hermione’s head on his shoulder, and he put his head on hers and then he saw a green light coming towards them knowing what was going to happen. So, he just started to whisper to her.
“Hermione I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to protect you and for that, I’m truly sorry. I hope you can forgive me in the afterlife.” He whispered to her while he hugged her even closer not wanting to let go of her. Until the spell hit them both. Draco then ended up waking up and sitting in bed not able to catch his breath until he heard a voice telling him that it was just all a nightmare. “Shhh love it was just a nightmare.” The voice said to Draco while they put a hand on Draco trying to calm down his breathing.
Draco just turned his head and saw that the voice belonged to none other than Hermione. “I’m right here Draco. It was all a nightmare.”
Draco closed his eyes and just relaxed in her touch and just listened to her voice until he woke up again but this time, he was alone in his bed at Malfoy Manor. Confused about what it meant he ended up having back-to-back dreams of Hermione Granger. All he knew was he didn’t want to go back to Hogwarts again.
While Draco was recovering from his dreams, he didn’t realize that his parents were standing outside his door realizing that they had heard Draco scream Hermione’s name when they looked at each other they realized that Draco had come into his dragon’s instincts without him realizing it and they knew that had to tell him in the morning not wanting to scare him again while telling him in the middle of the night.
“What do you mean I have to go back to Hogwarts? I don’t want to go back to that place with everything that has happened there. I barely want to stay at home with everything that has happened here.” Draco said while looking at both of his parents very angrily.
“Draco you have to go back. You need to find her since you didn’t find her this summer.” Narcissa said to him hoping he would understand that he would need to find Hermione.
“Who do I need to find and why? I don’t understand what you or father are talking about.” Draco said while having his anger go wild straight towards his parents.
“Do you want to tell him Lucius or should I do it?” Narcissa said looking at her husband and knowing that Draco was getting angrier by the minute.
“You should tell him Narcissa. It may come from my family line, but you used to tell him the story when he was just a child.” Lucius said while looking between his wife and son.
“What does a child’s story have anything to do with me?” Draco said looking at both of his parents confused about what was going on and why they wanted to talk to him.
“That child’s story has everything to do with it. Now that I realize that I made a mistake of teaching you what I taught you about families in the wizarding world whether they are magical or not.” Lucius said looking at both Draco and Narcissa while taking a seat in his chair next to Narcissa.
“You watched her go through pain, you heard her screams, and you saw her get marked. It was all my fault from the start I knew that we had a curse passed down to you as well since it’s how I found your mother when I was your age.” Lucius said to both Draco and Narcissa while looking down at his hands.
Draco then looked at both his parents and then just looked at his mother for answers. “Mother just tell me the story then you will both tell me who “her” is because I don’t,” Draco said again while still staring at his parents. Then both Narcissa and Lucius looked at each other in Lucius just gave her a nod of his head.
“There once was a dragon that was living on top of the mountain who was always looking down at the village of people below always being curious about them then one day, he sees a girl walking along the path to his cave so he decided to hide and just watch what the girl might do. Little did he know that fate was going to put this dragon and this girl together. Every day the girl came just to see if the dragon was real and every day the dragon himself would just watch her from affair so he wouldn’t get seen. Slowly but surely the dragon starts to fall in love with the girl.
He would always watch over her like she was his treasure that he might lose at any moment. He always wanted to show himself to her but he knew if he did, she would get scared and run then he would lose his chance. One night he just decides to sleep outside instead of his cave when he sees a star shoot by in the night sky and he hears from the humans if you make a wish on that star your wish will come true. So, he wished with all of his might that he could be human so he could be with the girl he had fallen in love with.
One night that wish came when he came across a witch who needed to get out of the cold rain, he told her his dream and how he had fallen in love with a human. So, she said that she would turn him human but with a price he wouldn’t be able to be completely human he would still have to live out his days at night as a dragon and during the day he would be able to live out his dream of being human. The dragon told the witch that he was okay with that just as long as he could get a chance to spend time with the girl he fell in love with from afar.
So, she ended up granting his wish and when morning came when he woke up from his slumber, he noticed that he had hands and feet. When he looked at himself near the waterfall, he saw his reflection and noticed a human face as well. He knew what he had to do after that was that he had to go find the girl he fell in love with. He went searching for her everywhere in and near the village until he went to the waterfall he would go to as a dragon and he saw her sitting there with her feet dipped into the water enjoying the sunshine and the sound of the water.
He decided to go to her and sit next to her and enjoy the moment with her and when he did, she turned her head and smiled at him. So, he smiled back and just said hello to her. Soon after that, they would meet at the waterfall every day and just enjoy each other’s company and listen to the sound of the waterfall. He ended up falling in love with her more as the days passed and he wanted to tell her who he was because she would talk to him about how every night, she would see a dragon lay near the waterfall every night. One day he had asked her how she knew that the dragon would come to the waterfall every night.
She looked at him and told him that she lived in a little cottage in the forest that was near the waterfall. She told him that one day she decided to gather supplies for healing potions, and she just saw the dragon laying there just listening and looking at the waterfall. She told him that she would always just stand there and watch the dragon because it looked peaceful, and she didn’t want to disturb its peace. He just looks right back at her and tells her that he thinks that the dragon would be okay if she decided to join it while it lay there near the waterfall. The next day the girl saw the dragon lying there again so she decided to take the man’s advice and just go sit by it very quietly without disturbing it.
The dragon slightly turned his head and saw the girl sitting there which made his heart grow more in love with her because she took his advice. Every day after that the girl would sit with the dragon every night after spending time with the man. As days and weeks go by the girl starts to notice the man, she spends time with during the day and the dragon at night are very similar to each other, but she can’t figure out how because she is starting to fall in love with them both.
So, she decided that she would tell the man her feelings when she was going to see him that day. Unfortunately, people in the village started to talk about a monster in the forest that would come after them. The girl ended up overhearing these conversations between the villagers and went looking for the dragon to warn him about what was going to happen. When she found the dragon, he was lying by the waterfall just listening to the sounds it was making.
“Dragon, I beg of you to run please the villagers have gone looking for you and they want to hurt you thinking you are a danger to us. Please I don’t want you to get hurt.” She said looking at the dragon and looking around to see if the villagers were coming. Then a voice came from somewhere, but she didn’t know from where. “So, you are the one he truly loves. I turned him human so he could get a chance at falling in love.”
As the voice continued to speak, she heard voices coming closer and the girl started to get scared knowing the villagers were getting closer to them. When the villagers found where they were the girl decided to stand in front of the dragon to try to protect him. That is when one of the villages grabbed the girl and dragged her to the side which the dragon saw and didn’t like. He ended up flying in the air and landing in front of the girl shielding her from everyone Then he got angry with them and told them “One must never touch a dragon's treasure let alone look or think of it.” He then blows fire at the villagers grabs the girl and flies off.
While they were flying in the air, the dragon started to speak. “I want to ask for your forgiveness, but I have deceived you.” The dragon spoke as he kept flying them to safety. She looked down at the dragon and wondered how to answer him. Her thoughts where she would ask him when they got to safety, and they did. The dragon had found a different cave for them to hide and stay in. As the girl got down from the dragon’s back, she turned to it and asked. “What did you mean you want to ask for my forgiveness?” she asked him while looking into its eyes and realizing that they were so familiar to her.
The dragon looked at her wondering if he should tell her the truth. “Did you ever hear a voice other than mine?” he asked her as she sat down in front of him. “Yes, I did. I heard a female’s voice tell me that I was the one you truly loved and that she turned you human so you could have a chance at love.” She said to him while still trying to figure out how she had seen his eyes before. “The voice you heard was the voice of the witch that put a spell on me that would turn me human during the day but then turn me back into a dragon at night. I had fallen in love with you seeing you by the lake one day and I just wanted to get close to you, but I knew in this form you would be scared of me then one night I was just watching you from my cave when a witch came across my cave wanting help getting some ingredients down from a tree that she needed for a healing potion.
I just helped her and when she flew down, she looked at me that she was grateful for my help and that she had seen my heart and my heart wanted to experience love.” The dragon looked at the girl and wondered if she was believing everything, he was telling her. “If you don’t believe me stay with me until morning then you see that I will turn human.”
The dragon said to the girl while looking at her from where he decided to lie down. When morning came and the girl woke up, she saw that what the dragon had said the night before was true. It was the man that she also fell in love with. She just kept looking at him watching him sleep and she couldn’t believe that the dragon and the man were both the same person, and she wouldn’t have to decide having to pick one over the other since she found comfort in both of them.
She then turned her head to look at the entrance of the cave and she saw a woman standing there and watching them. So, she started to wake up the dragon up. “Please wake up dragon. There is someone at the entrance of the cave I think the villagers found us. Please get up.” She kept saying as she was shaking the man, she decided to call the dragon and look at the woman that was coming towards them.
The man slowly started to wake up and look at the woman who is in love with then turned his head to see the other woman walking towards them. He automatically recognizes the other woman and looks at the girl. “That is the witch that put the spell on me so I can be human and get to know you. She won’t do us any harm I promise.” He looked at the witch again. “I see you two have found love within each other no matter who you are.” She said while smiling at them both happy that they found the love that they both wanted.
“What is going to happen to me now?” The dragon asked the witch not wanting to turn back into a full dragon again. “Well, what will happen now is there will be a curse in your family now. When they need to find their other halves, they will have the ability of a dragon but not turn into a fully grown dragon that you were before I gave you a chance to be human.” The witch said to both of them while still looking at the man. “Other than that, you will be human now and live a normal human life with your love.” She said again smiling at both of them happy that she could bring two people who needed each other without knowing it happy.
“Then of course you know the end of each story they lived happily ever after,” Narcissa said while looking at Draco and Lucius waiting to see what either one of them say.
“So let me get this straight I will have dragon-like instants to find the one that belongs to me. Why did father say that I saw her get hurt and you and he already knew who my other half is?” Draco said again while looking at both of his parents again.
“Son, I realized who she was when you started to talk about her when you started at Hogwarts unfortunately, I never really liked it at all but then we saw how you looked when she was brought here and tortured in front of you that I realized that I made a mistake this whole time,” Lucius said again while looking at Draco again.
“So, who is my other half if you don’t mind me asking” Draco said asking his parents to see if they came to the same conclusion as to who it was.
“Hermione Granger,” Both of his parents said to Draco at the same time hoping he would take the news well instead of badly.
